''Comet over Broadway'' ( 1938) is an American film starring

Kay Francis Kay Francis (born Katharine Edwina Gibbs; January 13, 1905 – August 26, 1968) was an American stage and film actress. After a brief period on Broadway in the late 1920s, she moved to film and achieved her greatest success between 1930 an ...

and released by

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

John Farrow John Villiers Farrow, KGCHS (10 February 190427 January 1963) was an Australian film director, producer, and screenwriter. Spending a considerable amount of his career in the United States, in 1942 he was nominated for the Academy Award for B ...

stepped in as director when

Busby Berkeley Busby Berkeley (born Berkeley William Enos; November 29, 1895 – March 14, 1976) was an American film director and musical choreographer. Berkeley devised elaborate musical production numbers that often involved complex geometric patterns. Berke ...

became ill, but Farrow was uncredited on the film.

Plot

Eve Appleton (Francis), wife of small-town garage owner Bill Appleton (Litel), has theatrical ambitions. Bill gets into an argument with a visiting actor over her, kills him accidentally, and is sent to prison. Eve, realizing her part in Bill's fate, vows to right matters, and taking her baby daughter, goes away to make her way in the theatre. Later, Eve is forced to leave her baby girl with her friend Mrs. "Tim" Adams (Gombell). Bert Ballin (Hunter) befriends her and they fall in love, but she moves abroad and becomes a star. Back in America, as the "Toast of Broadway", she is brought back to a realization of her former vows by Joe Grant (Crisp), her hometown lawyer.

Cast

as Eve Appleton * Ian Hunter as Bert Ballin *

John Litel John Beach Litel (December 30, 1892 – February 3, 1972) was an American film and television actor. Early life Litel was born in Albany, Wisconsin. During World War I, he enlisted in the French Army and was twice decorated for bravery. Ba ...

as Bill Appleton *

Donald Crisp Donald William Crisp (27 July 188225 May 1974) was an English film actor as well as an early producer, director and screenwriter. His career lasted from the early silent film era into the 1960s. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor ...

as Joe Grant *

Minna Gombell Minna Marie Gombell (''née'' Gombel; May 28, 1892 – April 14, 1973) was an American stage and film actress. Early years She was born Minna Marie Gombel in Baltimore, Maryland, the daughter of William and Emma M. Debring Gombel. Her father ...

as "Tim" Adams *

Sybil Jason Sybil Jason (born Sybil Jacobson; 23 November 1927 – 23 August 2011) was a South African-born, American child film actress who, in the late 1930s, was presented as a rival to Shirley Temple. Career Born in Cape Town, South Africa, on 23 ...

as Jackie Appleton *

Melville Cooper George Melville Cooper (15 October 1896 – 13 March 1973) was an English actor. His many notable screen roles include the High Sheriff of Nottingham in ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1938), Mr. Collins in ''Pride and Prejudice'' (1940) and ...

as Emerson * Ian Keith as Wilton Banks * Leona Maricle as Janet Eaton * Ray Mayer as Brogan *

Vera Lewis Vera Lewis (June 10, 1873 – February 8, 1956) was an American film and stage actress, beginning in the silent film era. She appeared in more than 180 films between 1915 and 1947. She was married to actor Ralph Lewis. Biography She was b ...

as Mrs. Appleton * Nat Carr as Haines *

Chester Clute Chester Lamont Clute (February 18, 1891 – April 2, 1956) was an American actor familiar in scores of Hollywood films from his debut in 1930. Diminutive, bald-pated with a bristling moustache, he appeared in mostly unbilled roles, consis ...

as Willis *

Edward McWade Edward McWade (January 14, 1865 – May 17, 1943) was a writer, stage actor and an American film actor. Biography McWade was born in Washington, D.C., on January 14, 1865. His father was notable stage actor Robert McWade Sr. (1835-1913) an ...

as Harvey *

Clem Bevans Clem Guy Bevans (October 16, 1880 – August 11, 1963) was an American character actor best remembered for playing eccentric, grumpy old men. Early life Bevans was born in Cozzadale, Ohio. Career Bevans had a very long career, starting in va ...

as Benson

Production

Bette Davis

Warners originally announced the project in May 1937 as a vehicle for Kay Francis based on a story by Faith Baldwin. In February 1938 the role was assigned to

Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her pe ...

, who had just been in ''

Jezebel Jezebel (;"Jezebel"
(US) and ) was the daughte ...

''. She was pulled off ''All Right's Reserved'' (which became '' Four's a Crowd'') so she could take six weeks holiday.

William Keighley William Jackson Keighley (August 4, 1889 – June 24, 1984) was an American stage actor and Hollywood film director. Career After graduating from the Ludlum School of Dramatic Art, Keighley began acting at the age of 23. By the 1910s and 1920s ...

as assigned to direct.

George Brent George Brent (born George Brendan Nolan; 15 March 1904 – 26 May 1979) was an Irish-American stage, film, and television actor. He is best remembered for the eleven films he made with Bette Davis, which included '' Jezebel'' and '' Dark Victo ...

and

who had both been in ''Jezebel'' were assigned to the cast. Kay Francis went into '' My Bill'' (1938) directed by

. Ian Keith,

Walter Abel Walter Abel (June 6, 1898 – March 26, 1987) was an American film, stage and radio actor. Life Abel was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, the son of Christine (née Becker) and Richard Michael Abel. Abel graduated from the American Academy of ...

(borrowed from

RKO RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheu ...

), and Ronald Reagan were set to co star and the film was meant to start shooting in early April 1938. But Davis was unhappy with the film. "This was the first nothing script I was given since my court battle in England", Davis later recalled, referring to the lawsuit in which she tried to win her freedom from

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

after being forced to appear in a series of mediocre films. "It was heartbreaking to me. After winning a second

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

. . . I was asked to appear again in junk."Stine, Whitney, and Davis, Bette, ''Mother Goddam: The Story of the Career of Bette Davis''. New York: Hawthorn Books 1974. , pp.101-104 Conferences were held to see if the script could be altered to her satisfaction. On March 30, with the film to start on Monday, Davis refused to make the movie claiming it was not up to the standard set by ''Jezebel''. Warners sent the script to

Irene Dunne Irene Dunne (born Irene Marie Dunn; December 20, 1898 – September 4, 1990) was an American actress who appeared in films during the Golden Age of Hollywood. She is best known for her comedic roles, though she performed in films of other gen ...

to see if she would do it. Warners pulled Davis out of her new project '' We Are Not Alone''. On April 1, Warners put Davis on suspension. She claimed she was ill but would have made the effort to appear in a film if it had been more than a "routine Cinderella yarn... Had it been ''The Life of Sarah Bernhardt'' or ''Maximillian and Carlotta'', both of which have been scheduled for me, I would have attempted to go to the studio, but I did not feel justified in jeopardizing my health on behalf of such an atrocious script." Keighley was assigned to another movie. The same week, Dick Powell was suspended by Warners for refusing a part in '' Garden of the Moon''. Warners lodged a complaint against Davis with the

Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...

, who said they needed time to investigate the matter properly. Davis opted to go on suspension and remained on suspension when the studio offered her ''Garden of the Moon'', a

musical, instead. "I was on suspension for a good part of the year following ''Jezebel''. So much wasted time at a time when I felt my career could from then on become a truly successful one . . . It took a lot of courage to go on suspension. One received ''no'' salary . . . I couldn't afford it, nor could I afford, career-wise, to make films such as ''Comet Over Broadway'' and ''Garden of the Moon''!" By the end of April, Davis and

Hal Wallis Harold Brent Wallis (born Aaron Blum Wolowicz; October 19, 1898 – October 5, 1986) was an American film producer. He is best known for producing ''Casablanca'' (1942), ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1938), and '' True Grit'' (1969), along wi ...

, head of production at Warners, agreed on a truce and Davis' next film for Warners would be '' The Sisters'' (1938).

Miriam Hopkins Ellen Miriam Hopkins (October 18, 1902 – October 9, 1972) was an American actress known for her versatility. She first signed with Paramount Pictures in 1930. Her best-known roles included a pickpocket in Ernst Lubitsch's romantic comedy '' T ...

was cast in the lead. A week later she dropped out to do another film and the lead role was given to the original star, Kay Francis.

was assigned to direct.

Shooting

Filming started July 1938. The film's title was changed during production to ''Curtain Call'' then was changed back to ''Comet Over Broadway''.

References

External links

* * * * {{Busby Berkeley 1938 films Films about theatre Films directed by Busby Berkeley Films directed by John Farrow Films produced by Hal B. Wallis Warner Bros. films Films scored by Heinz Roemheld Films based on works by Faith Baldwin American romantic drama films 1938 romantic drama films American black-and-white films 1930s American films